Crude Oil Classifiaction

The following classification is used around the world for trading oil; the oil prices are also fixed using the same classification. Therefore it is necessary to know what type of oil we are referring when we quote the price of oil for trading or otherwise.


Brent Blend

Brent Blend, comprising 15 oils from fields in the Brent and Ninian systems in the East Shetland Basin of the North Sea. The brent crude Oil is landed at Sullom Voe in the Shetlands. Oil production from other parts of the world is often compared to the price of this brent oil, which forms a benchmark for the oil price.

Brent Crude Oil is one of the major classifications of oil consisting of Brent Crude, Brent Sweet Light Crude, Oseberg and Forties. Brent Crude oil is produced or sourced from the North Sea.

Brent blend is a fairly light crude oil, though not as light as West Texas Intermediate (WTI). It contains approx 0.37% of sulfur, classifying it as Sweet Crude, yet again not as sweet as WTI. Brent blend is ideal for production of Gasoline. It is most often refined in Northwest Europe, but when the market oil prices are favorable for export, it can also be refined also in the United States or the Mediterranean region.


West Texas Intermediate

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a type of crude Oil used as a benchmark in estabishing oil prices and the underlying commodity of NYMEX (New York Mercantil Exchange) Crude Oil futures trading. This is normally the type of oil referenced in Western news and business reports about crude oil prices, alongside North Sea Brent Blend crude oil.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a very light crude, lighter than Brent crude oil which is fairly light. It contains approx 0.24% sulfur, rating it a "sweet" crude, sweeter than Brent oil. Its properties and production site make it ideal for being refined in the USA, mostly in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions of the country.


OPEC Basket

It consis of crude Oil from the following countries and names:
"Arab Light", which is Crude Oil from Saudi Arabia. "Bonny Light", which is crude oil from Nigeria. "Fateh", which is crude oil from Dubai, "Isthmus" from Mexico (which is non-OPEC), "Minas" Indonesia. "Saharan Blend" which is crude oil from Algeria. "Tia Juana Light" from Venezuela.

OPEC traditionally try to keep the crude oil price of the Opec Basket between upper and lower price limits, by increasing and decreasing oil production. This makes the measure important for oil market trading analysts. The "OPEC Basket", which is a a mixture of both light and heavy crudes, is heavier than both Brent and WTI crude oils.